North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has warned of the dangers of not checking chimneys after its crews attended two chimney fires in villages close to Ripon within hours yesterday.

Ripon firefighters were called to Sawley just before 3.30pm yesterday and then to Marton-le-Moor shortly after 6.30pm.

The Marton-le-Moor fire was caused by a beehive blocking smoke in the chimney. The cause of the fire in Sawley is unknown.

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said they had heard of birds nests causing fires in chimneys but never beehives.

Both fires were confined to the chimneys and left no external damage.

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The homeowners were advised to get their chimneys checked following the incidents in case the heat damaged the chimney stacks.

The spokesperson urged residents to clean their chimneys regularly to clear obstructions, such as nests and leaves and to remove the build-up of soot.

It said chimneys for smokeless fuels should be swept once a year; chimneys for fires that burn wood and bituminous coal should be swept twice a year.